2010 SOTF-TV Seasons
Season Thirteen Dates: ''' Spring 2010 '''Winner: '''Monika Trace (four kills) '''Runner Up: Eric Cerrone (six kills) Third Place: Ling Imagawa (three kills) Location: The Frontier Funland Wild West Park, an amusement park with a heavy Wild West theme located in Arizona. Notable Participants: *''Monika Trace'' (winner) - A girl well known around school thanks to her track team background as well as her time spent surfing, Monika spent most of her time in the game alone aside from an alliance with Ling Imagawa in the later stages. Monika became viewed as a gritty hero as the season went on, often showing her resolve and keeping cool to escape bad situations and overcome attacks. *''Eric Cerrone'' (runner-up) - One of the main villains of the season, Eric was a popular football player who put his physical gifts to use early and often. He is known for hunting Monika Trace across the arena for almost the entirety of the game, after an early encounter led him to declare her his only worthy adversary. He died after being left to bleed out from wounds inflicted on him by Monika. *''Ling Imagawa'' (third place) - A second tier hero of the season, Ling was a quiet girl from the school track team and initially started off working in a group with two other students. Following their deaths at the hands of Eric Cerrone and Paul Andrews, Ling turned her focus to hunting down players. She preferred to sneak up on her targets or lead them into traps rather than face them head on. Ling met her end during the finals when Eric Cerrone clipped her with a lucky shot from Paul Andrews’s shotgun. *''Jimmy Dunne'' (sixth place, one kill) - Known for his laid-back, laconic charisma and surfer look, Jimmy became popular with audiences quickly as he blew off an attempted robbery which such little care that his would-be robber had second thoughts and ran away. A few of his one-liners stuck around after the season, with his main catchphrase of, “Bro, really?” becoming a best-selling t-shirt. Jimmy killed himself using a trap made with dynamite he had acquired over the course of the game in an attempt to kill Eric Cerrone and Paul Andrews. While he succeeded in killing Andrews, Cerrone survived. *''Paul Andrews'' (seventh place, five kills) - The other main villain of the season, Paul was a member of the school paper who was expected to be an early out. His draw of a Remington 870 shotgun for his assigned weapon allowed him to quickly become a large threat as he took out his anger and resentment on his peers. His violent nature even led Eric Cerrone to ally with him rather than risk conflict. Paul died in the explosion caused by Jimmy Dunne's trap. *''Mark Cage'' (forty-third place) - The boyfriend of Monika Trace and one of the first deaths of the season, Mark is memorable for being beaten to death by Eric Cerrone as the other boy attempted to steal his gun. Mark's death was the main catalyst for many of the notable events of the season. Summary: Season Thirteen was held at an amusement park in Arizona called the Frontier Funland Wild West Park during its off-season. The season saw forty-three seniors from a high school in Huntington Beach, California chosen to participate. The action started quickly as a few of the students made early use of their assigned weapons. Eric Cerrone started his season-long rivalry with Monika Trace by stabbing her boyfriend, Mark Cage, to steal his gun, while she was still shaking off the effects of the knockout gas. He attempted to kill her as well, only for her to escape by jumping out of a window. Eric's vow to kill Monika and his near-constant pursuit of her became one of the season's most prominent plots. Elsewhere, Paul Andrews began his killing spree immediately upon awakening by testing his shotgun on the first person he came across. The end of the first day also featured one of the most memorable moments of the season, as Leroy Cramer attempted to rob Jimmy Dunne, who was lying at the edge of the saloon roof. Jimmy’s complete nonchalance over the attempt, including his now famous line, "Bro, really?" left his would-be robber convinced that Jimmy either had a better weapon in reserve or an ally waiting in ambush. Leroy fled, only for Jimmy to ponder aloud why he hadn’t been shot before resuming his nap. Ling Imagawa met up with two of her friends from the track team near the start of the game. The trio decided to hunker down and avoid confrontation, but were forced to move when a fight broke out nearby. All three managed to escape unharmed, if slightly shaken. Meanwhile, Monika was avoiding confrontation with the other contestants, her trust in her classmates having been destroyed by Eric’s earlier assault. During the night, a boy named Morgan Davies attempted to ambush her, and in the ensuing melee Monika managed to get hold of his gun and shoot him twice in the chest, thus scoring her first kill. At about the same time, Eric Cerrone ambushed and killed two of his sleeping classmates and stole their packs, then set out to find the source of the gunshots he'd heard—Monika's encounter with Morgan. After a brief firefight, during which Monika was hit in the leg but managed to catch Eric in the arm, Eric backed off to tend to his wounds and Monika fled. As she ran, Leroy jumped out at her in another robbery attempt. Thinking her assailant was Eric, Monika shot him in the head, only realizing it was someone else a split second later. Cursing to herself, she slipped off into the night, narrowly avoiding Eric as he finished patching his wounds and set off in pursuit once more. The next morning, Jimmy Dunne finally moved from his rooftop perch and headed into the main developed section of the park where he encountered a student by the name of Melanie Kant. The pair stuck together for a while, bonding through jokes and goofing around, but the arrival of Paul Andrews forced them both to flee when, drawn by their laughter, he blindly fired into the building where they were hiding. Melanie succumbed to wounds inflicted by Andrews not long after, and Jimmy took the grenades she had been given, leaving his own assigned cowboy hat covering her face. After his attack on Jimmy and Melanie, Paul set out in search of new targets. Through a calculated ambush, he managed to turn the tables on a pair of students who had teamed up in hopes of killing him. Eric Cerrone stumbled upon the aftermath of this in his continuing search for Monika and, realizing Paul had him outgunned, instead offered a partnership with the understanding that the pair would work together until everyone else was dead. Paul was hesitant at first, but, following the announcements verifying Eric's own status as a multiple-killer, agreed. Their first act as a pair was to attack Ling Imagawa’s group. Ling escaped by pretending that she had been killed in the gunfire, and sneaking away once the boys had moved on. Following this incident, Ling dedicated herself to hunting down players and began her run of three kills. Her first catch was minor killer Josephine Barnett, who Ling lured into a bear trap she had set earlier and then stabbed in the throat. Jimmy Dunne continued building his collection of explosives when he stumbled across the corpse of one his fellow students who had committed suicide. He took the dynamite from the girl's pack before moving on, mentioning to the cameras that he was planning "something rad." Around this time, Ling picked up her most famous kill. Spotting the player Davey Ridgewell sleeping inside the confessional booth in the fake town's church, Ling managed to use a trash can to capture a rattlesnake she had seen sunning itself behind the church. She threw the reptile in with the sleeping Davey, whose panicked flailing as he awoke provoked multiple bites. Ling slipped away, and Davey died slowly and in pain as a result of the snake's poison. Paul and Eric had continued their killing spree into the next day as they quickly racked up kills between them, Eric managing to kill two more of his classmates and Paul accounting for another one, leaving them tied for most kills in the season. Monika spotted the pair in the aftermath of Paul's final kill and opened fire on them from a distance. While she failed to kill either, she succeeded in hitting Paul right below his left knee, severely hampering his movement. Eric attempted to pursue her, but was stopped by the combined fire of Monika and Ling, who had been preparing to ambush the pair herself and joined the fray on Monika's side; Eric was forced to retreat in the face of this unexpectedly-heavy resistance. Jimmy Dunne, hearing the sounds of fighting, woke from his midday nap and ventured out of his hiding place in the tunnels of a mine cart ride. He caught the attention of Paul and Eric, who were patching Paul's leg up as best they could nearby, yelling at them and then casually walking back inside. When the two players followed him deep enough, Jimmy turned around, flashed a smile, and lit the dynamite he had rigged throughout the tunnel before lunging at the pair. His injured leg, combined with Jimmy tackling him to the ground, prevented Paul from escaping the blast, and he perished along with Jimmy. This also triggered the start of Endgame. Eric hobbled to the Endgame location: the town square, where a set of gallows had been built especially for the season. Upon arriving, Eric hid inside one of the nearby buildings and waited. Monika and Ling arrived soon after but were ambushed by the other two finalists, Levi White and Roy Dalton. Ling crept around the outskirts and eventually outflanked Levi, shooting him in the temple from point blank range while Monika wrestled with Roy. Monika managed to win the fight after pushing Roy off her and throwing sand in his eyes to blind him, buying time for her to wrench his gun from his grasp and turn it on him. When the girls regrouped at the gallows they questioned where Eric was, prompting him to pop out of his hiding place and shoot at them, killing Ling. Monika ran for cover as Eric continued to fire at her, all the while taunting her. Eric opined that it was lucky for him that they were the final two, since now he could correct his mistake from the first day. He climbed up on the gallows, hoping to get a better vantage point and to bait Monika out of cover with his taunts, but when she did emerge she shot him immediately in the shoulder and stomach. As Eric lay on the gallows platform bleeding to death from his wounds, Monika approached him. Eric asked her through tears to show mercy and kill him quickly. Instead she used her last bullet to shoot the platform next to him, telling him she was checking if she had any bullets left. Monika then raised the gun to Eric’s head and let it click, having known the whole time she was wasting her last bullet. She shrugged, said, "Unlucky," then walked away, leaving Eric to bleed to death over the next half hour. When he finally expired, Monika was declared the winner of the season. Legacy: *Rated as: Good *Season Thirteen is well-regarded among fans. Its strong set of major characters and the ways their storylines converged led to it being considered a very cohesive season with a strong narrative. One of the major criticisms of the season was that Paul didn’t make it to the endgame, instead leaving the penultimate showdown pitching Monika and Ling against two players most fans barely remember, although the fight itself is generally considered strong. Season Thirteen's reputation is also helped by its proximity to the much less even Season Fourteen, which earned enough fan ire to grant Season Thirteen a notable sheen of nostalgia. *The season also brought a lot of attention to Frontier Funland and is credited with keeping the park running to the present day. The park now boasts a Survival of the Fittest tour that features memorable landmarks from the season, including the gallows and confession booth, plus a rebuilt mineshaft rigged with fake explosives. *Monika Trace was a fairly popular winner, although a decent number of fans preferred Eric Cerrone as potential winner. After the game, Monika quietly returned to her life in California, where she graduated college with a sports science degree and began surfing again, eventually being hired as a panel member for the World Surf League. Whenever she is interviewed, the subject of her time on Survival of the Fittest is one she tries to avoid, claiming she finds it awkward to discuss. Her only clear concession to her experiences is the twin tattoos across the knuckles of her hands: Mark on the right and Ling on the left. Suggested by: Deamon Season Fourteen Dates: ''' 2010 '''Winner: '''Georgia “Hatchet” LaLourvey (three kills) '''Runner Up: Ashley Mei (eight kills) Third Place: Ida Jeppesen (one kill) Location: A large, purpose built arena in the central United States. The area was enclosed with high walls, but comprised several acres of land with a number of distinct and specially constructed areas and facilities. Notable Participants: * Georgia LaLourvey (winner) - a scrawny chatterbox of a girl who didn’t seem up to much, Georgia gained most attention in the early game for her habit of ranting incomprehensibly to the cameras whenever she became frustrated. Due to this—and the various shenanigans she got up to throughout the season, she became a well-liked figure. Her smart and pragmatic gameplay also did her appeal no harm. * Ashley Mei (second place) - the season’s top killer, Ashley was a member of her school’s wrestling club. Initial impressions were that she was a large and large-hearted girl, all set to be the conscience of the season. This, however, proved wildly inaccurate when she reacted violently to a proposed suicide pact from her best friend. Adopting a ‘trust nobody’ approach, Ashley’s brutal game is noted for her total neglect of any kind of firearm, scoring each of her eight kills in close combat. * Ida Jeppesen (third place) - a quiet, shy and bookish type, Ida would have been in danger of slipping under the radar if it wasn’t for an early burst of drama in her story. Trapped at gunpoint with her friend Matt Laramee, she was freed by Jadyn Goff, a mutual acquaintance. The trio spent the majority of their game together, and Ida had plenty of time to shine as a thoughtful and brave person who was willing to fight when push came to shove. * Matt Laramee (fourth place) - class joker Matt Laramee had a stroke of luck when saved along with Ida. Interestingly, after Jadyn’s death, it was actually he who took the backseat role, in spite of being the bigger presence of the pair to that point. He was involved in two of the tragic moments of the season, and for most, his lategame death came at the perfect time for the drama. * Carlos Abrigo (fifth place) - the longest lasting member of the big player group in the game, Carlos came into his own relatively late on. Seen by most as simply the dumb muscle of the team, Carlos saw through Benny Clements’ lies and correctly deduced that he had been manipulated. Destroying his own group, Carlos became one of the key motivators late on. * Kirk Kirkham (ninth place) - a wildly arrogant jock, Kirk was close to being the comic relief of the season, both due to his uncanny proclivity for getting into bizarre scrapes and his so-called ‘hateboner’ for Georgia, which transcended a mere grudge to become something downright irrational. He is memetically nicknamed ‘delivery boy’, for returning Georgia’s hatchet to her. * Benny Clements (eleventh place) - smart and charming, Benny quickly gathered a group of allies to him in the game. Exploiting some of the gimmicks of 14, he was able to manipulate all three of his allies into following his agenda for almost four days of the five day season, up until his scheme fell apart. Whilst it can be assumed he eventually intended to betray his group, he was killed before he could see the plan through to completion. * Jadyn Goff (fifteenth place) - perhaps the biggest hero of the season, Jadyn was an athlete with a heart of gold and some good old-fashioned country charm. He protected his friends at all times, never hesitating to throw himself into danger to keep them from harm. This was eventually his undoing, after he was shot in the spine shielding Matt Laramee from gunfire. * Lenny Hodge (forty-second place) - the game’s first killer, Lenny picked up a visually spectacular first blood by harpooning his victim off the top of the arena’s stadium. Accidentally winding up in a group later that day, Lenny had managed to convince them that his kill was not nearly so malicious as suggested by the announcements. This hard work was promptly sunk by a highlight reel of the kill playing, and panicking, he fled the scene and was gunned down. Summary: Season 14 enjoyed heavy build-up in the weeks leading up to the game, including an excess of teaser trailers and televised ads—many more than the norm. There had been some turnover on the TV executive board prior to 14, and two new members had joined their ranks. The pair; Aaron Beazley and John C. Castleton, had worked their way up from the lower rungs of the company ladder. With a grandiose pitch, they were seeking to stamp their mark on SOTF-TV in their debut season. As a result of the dedicated advertised campaign and some carefully crafted ‘leaks’ regarding the game, fan interest was at an almost unprecedented high. This momentum remained intact for the grand opening of season 14 and the official unveiling of the purpose built arena for the forty-eight students of a high school in Denham Springs, Louisiana. In fact, the start of the game took place during said opening ceremony, resulting in a cacophonous first hour lit up by fireworks and live music. Unfortunately, the season’s appeal began to dwindle as early as the first announcement as it became apparent that the flashy start to the game was not where the glitz was going to end. A number of locations were simply artificially dangerous, including such charming features as rows of punjabi spikes, a swinging guillotine and a tar moat. Furthermore, in the midst of several similarly lethal ‘obstacle courses’ were crates purporting to contain supplies and weapons. Not only did several contestants die during the first day to little more than arena hazards, some of the crates, as it turned out, were duds, containing joke items and the like. Impressions only worsened when the second announcement was accompanied by a large screen in the arena’s stadium-like central area lighting up to show off a highlight of a bloody kill from Lenny Hodge, acclaimed as the ‘play of the day!’—and completely ruining his attempts to deceive the group he had found himself with. Rather than taking a step back and realising how perception of 14 was taking a nosedive, Beazley and Castleton doubled down during the second day and enacted another of their gameshow-like twists. This was the concept of a ‘safezone’—the precise opposite of a dangerzone, where no contestant was permitted to commit any violence. They hoped that the feature would encourage more introspection and talking, and perhaps allow rivals to confront one another without the potential for it being cut short by a kill. Needless to say, safezones were universally despised amongst the audience. By the middle of the third day, the two new executives had been ignominiously pulled by the remainder of the board, and the rest of 14 was able to proceed without quite the same amount of meddling. In amongst the unnecessary deathtraps, random SFX and nonsensical ‘leaderboard’ (which, to this day, has not been deciphered in any comprehensible fashion), there was, however, some semblance of a game going on. Jadyn Goff had captured the imagination of the audience for his heroic rescue of two of his friends from a player pair. Ashley Mei was beginning to establish herself as a ruthless player, particularly after her spectacularly brutal second kill, dropping out of a tree to impale her victim from above with a railroad spike. A quartet of contestants had gained some notoriety through their tightknit alliance which became known as ‘the gank squad’ thanks to their ambush and mob beatdown strategy. The group was headed up by the highly charismatic Benny Clements, an outdoorsy type who was able to convince his allies that the ‘high scorers’ on the leaderboard would be allowed to exit the game. What was initially considered to be merely an entertaining subplot was also underway. Georgia LaLourvey, resident gamer and loudmouth, had taken exception to her assigned weapon, a fire axe, and endured a dangerous set of obstacles to secure a supply crate. Within was nothing more than confetti and a simple hatchet, resulting in an incandescent meltdown of epic proportions to the nearest camera. Proceeding to fling the hatchet into the nearest bush, Georgia inadvertently hit (and broke the nose of) Kirk Kirkham, who had been lying in wait to ambush her and steal the spoils of the crate. Completely unawares of this, Georgia proceeded to storm off. The remainder of 14 went relatively smoothly, although there was plenty of room for audience frustration when one member of the gank squad fell into a pit in a wooded area and died. Jadyn continued with his optimistic outlook, and when he took a bullet for his friend Matt Laramee, there was time for a touching and tearful farewell between him, Matt and Ida Jeppesen, the other person he had rescued. Ashley was fast becoming a frontrunner with her ambush tactics and efficient brutality, whilst Georgia continued attracting attention for her rants and pizzaz, memorably pushing an attacker into the pendulum guillotine and demanding to know ‘WHY DID YOU EVEN HAVE THAT HERE!?’ from the camera. Shortly before endgame, the gank squad fell apart as even Benny’s gift of the gab couldn’t conceal the leaderboard lies any longer. After confronting Benny with his suspicions, group muscle Carlos Abrigo instigated a violent confrontation, and was the last man standing from the remaining three. It was also at this time that Kirk Kirkham finally caught up with Georgia, having been nursing a grudge ever since she injured him (at this point almost four days ago). After a brawl, Georgia managed to defeat and kill Kirk with—what else—the very same hatchet, before looking down at his dead body and saying ‘Sorry, who the fuck were you?’ The final five consisted of Carlos Abrigo, Georgia LaLourvey, Ashley Mei, Matt Laramee and Ida Jeppesen. Initially planned to take place in the stadium, the executives vetoed the plan and instead directed the action to one of the better known areas; the skeletal framework of a large building, intentionally left bare and incomplete. Carlos quickly ran into Matt and Ida, and Ida enjoyed her true ‘passing the torch’ moment from Jadyn when she went toe-to-toe with Carlos, successfully protecting Matt, and then going on to kill Carlos. Any triumph, however, was shortlived, when Ashley came storming onto the scene, stabbing Matt with such force that he was driven off the second story of the building to fall to his death below. Weakened and demoralised, Ida put up a decent fight, but became Ashley’s eighth victim in short order. With no small reluctance, Georgia was the next to reveal herself, and to the surprise of many, was able to lead Ashley on a merry chase throughout the building site. Each time Ashley caught up, a brief fight was all that ensued before Georgia wriggled clear again. During this pursuit, Georgia disarmed Ashley once and also caused her to snap a barbed-wire bat in half. When Ashley finally cornered Georgia atop the scaffold, she was down to one final weapon, the one weapon she’d scrounged in the building; a hatchet. A hatchet which Georgia had carefully broken apart and then ‘mended’. A hatchet which broke on contact with Georgia’s arm and gave her the opening she needed to stab Ashley repeatedly in the chest. Legacy: *Rated as: Poor * 14 was and is polarising at best. By the time it became clear there were plenty of compelling characters and stories involved, large swathes of the audience had turned off from the season. The gimmicky backdrop to the game was regarded as tacky, and almost every concept introduced to ‘spice things up’ bombed horribly in terms of audience reception. Some time and distance has led to certain perceptions softening, but it’s largely agreed that a weaker cast would probably have resulted in one of the worst seasons ever. * Beazley and Castleton quickly and unceremoniously resigned after 14 wrapped up. The prevailing notion is that both jumped before they were pushed, and neither has worked in a SOTF-TV capacity since. * Having been more or less screwed by the producers, Lenny’s name lives on in infamy. Fans of the show have adopted the term ‘Hodging it up’ for when the producers or crew make a mistake. * Georgia, popular for her performance, has gone on to become a big success story. She hosts her own TV-related talkshow, entitled ‘Burying with Hatchet’ (a moniker which she has tongue-in-cheek embraced), and is often one of the first ports of call for post-TV interview segments. * A movie adaptation of 14 entitled 'Hatchet Girl' was released in 2015. It was panned upon release due to being little more than a mishmash of the game's most memorable scenes, with little to no effort made to actually make it into a proper theatrical experience. There were also several complete casting miscues, most egregiously with Ashley Mei's actress, whom many didn't even realise was supposed to be portraying her. The slim consolation was Vienne Kamu's role as Georgia LaLourvey, widely agreed to be one of the only worthwhile performances in the movie and the launching point for a promising career. Suggested by: Namira Season Fifteen Dates: ''' 2010 '''Winner: '''Unknown '''Runner Up: Third Place: Location: Notable Participants: * Summary: Legacy: * Suggested by: Season Sixteen Dates: December 2010 Winner: Shauna Little (five kills) Runner Up: Nadia Lang (three kills) Third Place: Brigham Sands (four kills) Location: Season Sixteen was set in Ellery Castle and its grounds, located outside of Hadden, Connecticut. The castle was commissioned at the turn of the Twentieth Century by eccentric New England playwright Samson Ellery to serve as his private residence. Ellery designed the castle in a primarily gothic style, though integrated some other architectural styles and fairy tale influences to produce a unique appearance. Ellery died without any heirs, and the land was purchased by the Connecticut state government, who turned the area into a tourist attraction. The state was perfectly willing to lend out the property to SOTF producers during one of its slow months, eager to reap the rewards of the publicity the show would bring to the site, which had seen a downturn in visitors in recent years. In addition to the castle, which has gone through many renovations over the decades, the grounds contain stone walkways, a root cellar, a servants' building, a garden, and a pond. The property is located on a small peninsula, which allowed the river surrounding it to serve as a natural boundary for most of the arena, with a heavy duty fence being erected to close off the land route. Notable Participants: *''Shauna Little'' (winner, five kills) – A shy basketball player back at school, during the season Shauna stepped up as one of the core members of The Court group. She became known for her unquestioning devotion to Anthony Hyland, which made her unpopular with viewers. She's also known for her nervous nature and itchy trigger finger, which led her to inadvertently cause the destruction of her group and ultimately become the season's top killer. *''Nadia Lang'' (runner up, three kills) – Nadia was a gossip who became a fan favorite thanks to her witty, cutting sense of humor and her willingness to oppose Anthony Hyland. She became the leader of The Extras, a small group within The Court composed of people who didn't trust Anthony and promised to protect one another. As the game went on, she became part of a violent rebellion against Anthony and showed a ruthless streak towards those who wronged her. *''Brigham Sands'' (third place, four kills) – Anthony Hyland's best friend, Brigham was a supposed tech genius. Anthony tasked Brigham with finding out how to disable the collars, a mission he proved unsuited for. His mental state declined through his repeated failures, eventually leading him to abandon the group, leading to its demise. Brigham's late game was marked by erratic behavior, coldly committing murder one second and pleading for peace the next, leading to him becoming a confusing figure for the viewers. *''Lawrence Parris'' (fourth place, four kills) – One of the season's few clear-cut villains, Lawrence was the second-in-command of the Rutledge Gang back at school, but in-game he avoided contact with others, including his own friends. He made great use of stealth, only killing when he had a clear advantage. He also spent much of the game stalking Court patrols; his plans and motives were a mystery to the viewers, making him an intriguing figure. However, he was killed suddenly in Endgame without ever having uttered a single word the whole season, leaving his mysteries unanswered. *''Anthony Hyland'' (eleventh place, one kill) – The season's core figure, Anthony was a charming boy who could seemingly get along with anyone. Early in the game, he took down the school's most feared student, Warren Rutledge, and afterwards he was able to form a large escape group around himself, dubbed "The Court." He became derided by the fanbase for his frequent speeches and moralistic attitude, and his influence was blamed for the season's problems. In the end, Anthony's failure to make progress on his escape led to him being killed by some of his own dissatisfied allies. *''Warren Rutledge'' (twenty-seventh place, two kills) – The son of a rich family, Warren led a gang of bullies that terrorized the other students. He was a major figure in the early game; he was featured prominently in pre-season material and many other students expressed fear at what he would do. He lived up to the hype at first, scoring two brutal kills in the first few hours. His surprise death on the first night, as he was improbably killed by a well-aimed throwing knife from Anthony Hyland, set Anthony's rise into motion. Summary: Season Sixteen took thirty-two seniors from the rural town of Kittredge, Idaho. Pre-game publicity emphasized the small town background of its contestant pool—Kittredge's population hovered right around nine hundred, so most of the students had known each other since early childhood, promising deep-seated, interconnected relationships. Particular attention was given towards a clique dubbed the "Rutledge Gang," a group of five boys led by Warren Rutledge, son of the wealthiest family in town. Due to Warren's connections, he and his associates were able to bully the other students with impunity, a fact well-known around town. The producers advertised the gang as dynamic personalities with great potential, but many fans were irritated off the bat that nearly a third of the season's male contestants belonged to a seemingly-predictable player group. The promos also advertised the unique setting, pushing a medieval theme for the season. However, when the season began it became clear that the producers were unwilling to put much effort into furthering their theme. Some medieval weaponry was handed out, but the pool still consisted mainly of modern weapons. The castle, with its unique design, only vaguely resembled an actual medieval building, and due to the urging of the Connecticut Tourism Office, the building also kept its famous early 1900s style interior decor. Still, the promise of dramatic, interconnected relationships seemed to come to explosive fruition right out of the gate. Hannah Glass and Bill Butcher met on the first morning and immediately started slinging insults at one another, their mutual hatred apparently stemming from an old family feud. When Bill turned to leave, Hannah shot him in the back with her assigned crossbow. Elsewhere, Walker Cody met up with his close friend Pete Greenwood. As they sat and talked by the pond, Walker confessed to his friend that he was secretly dating their classmate Kate Cjakowski; Pete was shocked by this, given that he was also secretly dating Kate Cjakowski. The two erupted into an argument that ended with Pete bludgeoning Walker's head with his claw hammer and throwing him into the water to drown. As expected, the Rutledge Gang made their mark on the first day. Shortly after waking, Warren Rutledge intimidated John Acre, a timid boy who had been one of his bullying targets back at school, into giving him his assigned mace and teaming up with him. The two later ran into class president Augusta Smith. Augusta tried to persuade Warren not to play, but Warren was apathetic to her pleas. He commanded John to hold Augusta still as he beat the girl to death with the mace. Warren would go on to gain a second kill that day: he and John would run across Rutledge Gang member Dan Dillard just outside of the castle walls. After the two friends were done catching up, Warren turned to John, said "Well, I guess there's no use keepin' you 'round anymore," and shot the boy with Dan's shotgun. Warren's cousin, Bobby Deacon, was making a name for himself as well, using his hunting rifle to shoot down a fleeing Sarah Washington, before finishing her off at close range. Not all of the Rutledge Gang immediately turned to killing, however. Otis French found himself held at gunpoint by athlete Eliza Russell. He showed her his weapon, a plastic Holy Grail, and convinced her to lower her gun. The pair, though they barely interacted back at home, would quickly bond and become fan favorites. Eliza's serious nature played off well against Otis' relaxed humor, and there was an undercurrent of attraction between the two of them that viewers were eager to see flourish into a romance. The final member of the gang and its second-in-command, Lawrence Parris, was a mystery to viewers. He spent the first day silently skulking around the arena, avoiding all contact with others. In one memorable moment shortly before the morning announcements, Lawrence was exploring the castle library when he saw Warren and Dan enter. He hid amongst the shelves until his friends left the room, leading to much audience speculation as to his motives. The first day also saw the foundation laid for the season's defining alliance. Anthony Hyland was fortunate enough to find his best friend, Brigham Sands, shortly after waking. Anthony was a kind, enthusiastic boy known for being able to get along with almost anyone. On that first morning, Anthony told Brigham that his goal was to find an escape method and save as many people as he could. Anthony, however, didn't have a clue about how they would disable the collars; Brigham, on the other hand, had a reputation for intelligence and an interest in technology. Anthony asked his friend if he could figure out how to remove the collars, and Brigham promised that he would find a way. The two saw the need to add more members to their group, and they found their first recruits later that day. Nadia Lang and Shauna Little had always disliked each other, Nadia's acerbic personality clashing with Shauna's shyness, but the two had agreed to team up for their mutual protection. Anthony and Brigham found the pair while exploring the castle gift shop. Shauna, who was friends with Anthony, agreed to join the group immediately; Nadia was won over with a little persuasion. When the announcements revealed that three of the first five kills were committed by Rutledge Gang members, it deepened the fear that the other students already had for the group. Lara Walsh was forced to confront that fear when, as she was sneaking around the castle's corridors trying to find a place to rest, she was set upon by Warren and Dan. Warren unsuccessfully tried to shoot at Lara through the darkness, and she ran, with the pair in hot pursuit. A short distance away, Anthony's group heard the gunshots. Anthony wanted to help whoever was in danger; Brigham and Nadia tried to dissuade him, saying that running towards gunfire was tantamount to suicide, especially since they didn't have any long-range weapons aside from Shauna's throwing knives, which none of them were skilled with. Anthony pleaded with Shauna to give him the knives; she hesitated at first, but eventually she complied. Anthony set off running towards the shots, and the rest reluctantly followed him. Lara ran into the main entrance hall, where she slipped and fell. Warren and Dan circled their prey, Warren gleefully sounding off all the ways he could torture her. He was interrupted by the arrival of Anthony and his group. The pair were startled by the newcomers, but they relaxed when they saw that none of them had guns. Warren waved the shotgun around, threatening to kill them all if they didn't leave; when he briefly turned his head to look back at Lara, Anthony took the opening. Anthony threw a knife, and to the shock of both everyone in the room and the viewers at home, it caught Warren in the throat just above his collar. Warren started gasping, dropped the gun, and tried to pull at the knife in his throat. After a few agonizing seconds, he collapsed. Silence descended over the room, until Dan turned and made to flee, only to be downed by a rain of bullets. Troy Freeman called out to the group from the balcony, rifle in hand, and rushed down to meet them. He explained that he had been drawn by the noise and hadn't intended to get involved, but Anthony's killing of Warren had inspired him to join them. Anthony thanked him, but asked him never to shoot someone while they were running away again; Troy shrugged and agreed. Anthony helped Lara to her feet and proceeded to give the first of many inspiring speeches to his expanded group, reassuring them that they would find a way they could all survive without killing anyone else. The others seemed to hang on to his every word. The group decided to make their base in Ellery's personal chambers, in the castle's highest tower. Mia Cabello and Maggie Solomon were already set up there, with Maggie working on her own plan to remove the collars. The two agreed to join the group, and Brigham and Maggie began examining the collars on the bodies of Warren and Dan. Throughout the night, many others would come to the tower, and upon learning what they were attempting, ask to join the group. Nerdy J.D. Forsyth showed up and offered to assist Brigham and Maggie in their experiments. Friends Daniel Hummel and Grant Tolson would enter the alliance as well. Not everyone who petitioned to join was accepted, however. Pete Greenwood showed up, asking if any of them had seen Kate. When everyone said that they hadn't seen her, Pete asked to join the group. He came off as aggressive and erratic, and he gave vague answers when asked about his killing of Walker. Anthony wanted to let him in anyway, but Brigham persuaded him into reluctantly turning the boy away. Pete was angry, but left without incident. Later, Otis and Eliza would arrive. Brigham and many of the others were firm about not letting Otis in because of his association with the Rutledge Gang. Eliza protested, but Otis agreed. Otis implored Eliza to stay, as she would be safest with the group. The two had a tearful goodbye; Eliza offered to give him her gun for protection but he refused, telling her that she might need it to help the escape. Otis left and Eliza joined the group, though her bitterness was clear. There was still action happening elsewhere on that first night. Hannah scored her second kill when she shot Carol Boyce in the leg and finished her off with an axe. Lawrence finally made his move, sneaking up on Chelsea Horpe in the garden and slitting her throat with his switchblade, taking her gun for himself. Bobby attempted to gain another kill from Jessica Schneider; he managed to shoot her in the shoulder, but she escaped and found a hiding spot. He couldn't find her, and he eventually stormed off in frustration. Viewers started to become annoyed by how large the escape group was growing. At twelve members, it encompassed more than half of the remaining contestants. Many were scared that the season could end up as a slow-moving disaster. The ire of the fans was directed mainly towards Anthony, perceived as the root of the problem. Fans made fun of his speeches and his overblown verbosity, and they derided the other members of his group for following him so loyally. Some started referring to the group as "The King and his servants." The producers, though nervous about the situation themselves, seized upon the opportunity to fit the group into the season's half-baked theme, and official materials began referring to the group with the more neutral name of "The King and his Court", or, more frequently, just "The Court." The group remained unnamed in the game itself. Despite this loose embracing of the thematic potential, the producers tried to disrupt The Court's activities by declaring the tower a danger zone, but the group simply relocated to the kitchen without trouble. However, some issues within the group began to reveal themselves as the day wore on. The "Techie Trio" of Brigham, Maggie, and J.D. were unable to discover anything meaningful from Warren's and Dan's collars, and they decided to leave the bodies behind rather than take the risk of wrangling them during the forced relocation. Brigham figured that the collars had been deactivated upon their wearers' deaths, and he felt he couldn't find out more without a live test subject. When Anthony refused to subject any of his group to such danger, Brigham suggested that they could find and capture players to test. With trepidation, Anthony agreed, seeing no other way to move forward without potentially hurting innocents. Anthony announced the plan later that day. They would send out groups of two or three, each armed with at least one gun, to search the arena, recruit more to their cause, and capture any players they could alive. Each group would patrol for a few hours and return to base before the announcements. While there was some uncertainty among The Court, they all ultimately agreed to the plan due to their trust in Anthony. The patrols started immediately, and they ran into a few other students, but no players. The first discovery was Kate Cjakowski, found hiding alone; she became the final member of the group. They also tried to recruit Tammy Rizzo, a calm and sarcastic girl who cheerfully wore her assigned weapon, a jester's hat. She refused the offer, believing she was better off alone. The remaining meetings were even less successful: Gabriel Ramirez fled as soon as a patrol spotted him, and another team had an uncomfortable encounter with a bitter Pete. The players were active elsewhere, meanwhile. Hannah had a fight with aspiring boxer Faith Cortes; she was beaten badly before she was able to kill the girl with a well-placed swing of the axe. Bobby met with Otis, and the two exchanged pleasant conversation before Bobby raised his gun and took out his surprised friend. The second night saw real cracks starting to form in The Court. Eliza was enraged by Otis' death, blaming it on Anthony and Brigham for turning him away; she was afraid to openly go against them, however, so she stuck to isolating herself and ranting to the cameras. Later, a frustrated Brigham approached Anthony and told him that the slow death rate and dwindling population of non-Court students meant they could soon be in danger of all progress grinding to a halt, at which point resources would become a serious concern, the castle having been cleared of all food prior to the season. This would inevitably lead to unrest within the group, and there was some concern that the producers would more directly move against them to avoid stagnation. If they didn't catch a player soon, Brigham warned, they'd have no choice but to experiment on their own people. Reluctantly Anthony told him he'd consider it. However, Nadia overheard their conversation and relayed it to Grant, Daniel, and Kate; the four of them had no particularly necessary skills, and they all agreed that they were the most likely to be sacrificed, so they formed an agreement to protect each other no matter what. The fans latched on to this "Extras" alliance, viewing them as a group of fun personalities who seemed a potential insurgent force against Anthony's dominance. Lawrence kept busy during this period. First, he killed the wounded Jessica as she rested. Shortly after, he began stalking the Court patrols from a distance, managing to avoid being seen despite a few close calls. Lawrence became an intriguing figure to viewers, with fans trying to figure out what his goal was. A dramatic moment occurred when a patrol of Shauna and Lara ran into Hannah Glass. Shauna tried to convince the killer to come quietly, but Hannah attacked. She injured Shauna with a crossbow bolt, and then turned on Lara, swinging her axe at the other girl. Lara, in a panic, tripped and fell just as she had with Warren. Just as Hannah was about to dismember her, Shauna shot and killed Hannah. Lara blamed herself for their failure to take Hannah in alive, and The Court's desperation continued to rise. The third day was the slowest phase of the game. Neither of the remaining players were very active. Bobby was injured during a fight with Pete, so he retreated to rest in a guest bedroom closet. Lawrence continued to skulk in the shadows. The Court patrols came up empty. There was only one death in the twelve hour period: Gabriel Ramirez fell down a flight of stairs and broke his leg after being accidentally startled by Britney Irwin. He asked Britney to just put him out of his misery, and she complied. At this point fan reaction had turned extremely negative, with many declaring the season unsalvageable. The Court felt the heat from the slow day as well. Immediately after the announcement, Brigham publicly confronted Anthony and told him that they needed to experiment now: they were running out of time. Lara volunteered to be the test subject, seeking to atone for her failure in capturing Hannah. The techie trio experimented on her collar; however, while Brigham was feeling around he accidentally damaged something and triggered the mechanism for the collar to explode. The failed experiment threw the whole group into anger and depression. Brigham, wracked with guilt, became clearly erratic. He profusely swore to the group that they would find a player test subject soon, and that next time he wouldn't fail. As it turned out, that wasn't the only loss The Court would suffer that night. While on patrol, Troy and Daniel ran into Britney Irwin. The two demanded to know why she had killed Gabriel. She told them that it was only out of mercy, but the two were desperate to capture a player, and they didn't listen. Troy and Daniel tried to grab Britney, but she stabbed Daniel and ran away. Troy ran after her as Daniel stayed back to treat his wounds. As Daniel patched himself up, Lawrence slowly inched closer from the shadows and shot Daniel in the back. Troy lost Britney and returned only to find Daniel's corpse. Daniel's death upset the Extras in particular, and they seemed close to abandoning The Court altogether. On the fourth day, danger zones forced The Court to move again, this time to a series of guest bedrooms on the top floor of the castle. The move became fruitful for the group, as they stumbled upon a sleeping Bobby in one of the closets. They successfully gagged and tied him up before he was able to resist; they finally had a player for their test subject. Brigham, Maggie, and J.D. brought him into a locked room and immediately began the experiments. However, at one point Bobby managed to throw off his gag, and he lunged for J.D., biting at his face; J.D. was flung backwards and cracked the back of his head on the pointed corner of a dresser, crumpling to the ground. Brigham knocked Bobby back, and, in a fit of rage, put Bobby down with his pistol. Maggie tried to treat J.D.'s wound, but he bled out. This last failure was clearly the breaking point for Brigham. He appeared outwardly calm, telling Maggie that he was going to the bathroom to wash up, but as soon as he was out of sight, he ran out of the guest wing, abandoning the group. It didn't take long for the whole group to realized what had happened. With Brigham gone, any hope they might have had of removing the collars evaporated. Anthony tried to calm the rest, assuring them that they'd find another way and that he wouldn't let any of them die. Eliza responded that he'd already let a bunch of people die. An argument erupted, with The Court split down the middle: Eliza, Nadia, Grant, and Kate were angry at Anthony for leading them down this path; Shauna, Troy, and Maggie defended Anthony; and Mia tried to mediate between the groups. Tensions flared, until everything finally exploded. Kate made a seemingly aggressive move towards Anthony, and Shauna reflexively shot her. Shauna, shocked and panicking, ran away. Eliza raised her gun to shoot Shauna as she ran, but Mia stopped her and tried to wrestle the gun away, receiving a bullet to the face in return. Troy was next to die; as took aim at Eliza, he was shot by Nadia. As Maggie watched in horror, the enraged trio of Nadia, Eliza, and Grant brutally beat Anthony, and then finally held him up and threw him from the window. In a few short moments, Anthony was dead and his Court was destroyed. Maggie fled, only to commit suicide later that day by jumping from the tower. The trio stayed together for a short time, but soon Eliza left Nadia and Grant, as they had never been close to begin with and she felt she was better off on her own. There were only nine contestants left as the fourth night began, and at that point the game turned more into something resembling standard SOTF fare. Brigham, in his wandering, had found Tammy and was sharing a meal with her as the announcement began. The two were expressionless as the names of the dead were read off. When the announcement finished, Tammy chuckled and made a flippant remark about how she'd been right about not joining them. Without a word, Brigham drew his gun and shot her. Elsewhere, Shauna was devastated to learn about what had happened. She felt she could never be forgiven, but she still vowed to avenge Anthony's death. Later in the night, Pete attacked her, seeking revenge for Kate's killing, but Shauna fought back and was able to fatally shoot him. Lawrence snuck up on Eliza in the corridor and fired at her; she managed to avoid the first few shots and fire off some of her own, but her accuracy was poor and in the end Eliza was killed and Lawrence walked away unscathed. As the sun was just about to rise, Nadia and Grant encountered Britney in the courtyard. Grant was aggressive, demanding information about her role in Daniel's death. Fed up, Britney attacked him. The two engaged in a short scuffle, during which they mortally wounded each other before Nadia could disarm Britney and pull her off of Grant. Grant died quickly, while Britney lingered. She begged Nadia to be merciful and kill her quickly, but Nadia, upset at the death of her last friend, just hurled insults at Britney until the girl finally bled out. Moments later, the sun had risen on the fifth day, and Endgame was called. The Endgame arena was the foyer of the grand castle, the same location where Anthony had killed Warren Rutledge. Nadia was the first to arrive, with Shauna not long after. The two immediately got into a fierce argument; each girl accused the other of murder, with Shauna additionally blaming Nadia for destroying any chance they had to escape, while Nadia told Shauna that they'd been stupid to think there was any chance in the first place. As they argued, Lawrence silently entered the foyer, and made his way around the perimeter, just watching the pair. Then, to the audience's shock, Brigham slipped in behind him without the other boy noticing, and killed Lawrence with three quick shots to the back. Shauna and Nadia turned to the sound of gunfire, and Brigham emerged. Shocking the audience once again, Brigham dropped his gun and implored the two girls to stop fighting and close out the game peacefully by leaving the Endgame arena together. They had all three committed irredeemable acts, he argued, and agreeing to die together peacefully was the only way for them to atone for their sins. While he was mid-sentence, Nadia opened fire on him. Shauna was surprised for a second, but then she joined in. The two girls emptied their guns into Brigham, and when they ran dry, he was left as nothing but a mangled lump of flesh. The two girls stood in silence for a long moment, staring at one another, but then they both lunged. They engaged in a quick and brutal hand-to-hand fight, ending when Shauna impaled Nadia through the eye with one of her knives. Shauna was declared the winner and evacuated by the medical team. Legacy: *Rated as: Poor *Season Sixteen was widely disliked for its slow pace and the dominance of The Court alliance, who were mostly considered boring pacifists with no real escape plans. In addition, it was a season full of frustrating characters: in the view of the fanbase, Anthony was sanctimonious and annoying, his allies were blind followers, Shauna never learned from any of her mistakes, Brigham's actions were erratic and confusing, and Lawrence was a mystery with no resolution. The saving graces of the season were its action-packed late game and a few memorable moments, such as the breakdown of The Court alliance and Brigham's death. In retrospect, most fans believe that the overarching story of The Court's rise and fall is an interesting one, but it just isn't worth sitting through the entire season. There have been talks of an abridged movie adaptation of the Court's story, but lack of mainstream interest has prevented the project from getting off the ground. *Shauna Little was an unpopular winner, and her post-game only worsened her reputation. She was reluctant to appear in public or participate in promotional materials, but in her few interviews she refused to budge from her opinions despite the fan backlash. She defended Anthony at every opportunity, and trash-talked Nadia whenever she could. She retreated from the spotlight altogether once the next season began, going to college and moving around for a few years before becoming a municipal clerk for a small town in Montana. Though she keeps her personal life private, in recent years she has somewhat returned to the community, making occasional podcast appearances where she continues to stand by her views of what happened in Season Sixteen. *The season affected the community of Kittredge, Idaho in a profoundly negative way. There were a few violent incidents between friends and family members of contestants, and many affected families, including the Little family, left town en masse. The mayor of Kittredge even issued public condemnations of SOTF. This negative press has made SOTF producers somewhat reluctant to take contestants from similarly small, close-knit communities; later explorations of similar themes have involved significantly more exploratory research, towns with slightly larger populations, or both. Shauna Little herself has never returned to Kittredge since her victory. Suggested by: Polybius Category:SOTF-TV Lore Category:SOTF-TV